The Rise of Social Media in Scottish Food & Drink

Is the presence of an online world having an impact on the UK’s food and drink organisations? Are pubs, cafes and restaurants across the country choosing to engage or disregard the influence of social media? With around 3.2bn global social media users and UK users consuming almost seven hours of online content a day, the figures speak for themselves.

Nisbets‘ catering equipment has released the findings of a survey aiming to examine the relationship between catering businesses and social media. When asked what each participant thought was the most effective form of marketing for their business, only 34% cited word of mouth. Conversely, 48% claimed that digital methods were the best type of advertising, while 93% believed social media had positively impacted their business.

According to the results, Facebook was the most important platform for catering businesses, with 81% of those surveyed believing so. Twitter followed as the second most popular social media platform, with 20% believing it has helped their marketing strategy.

And Instagram has also become a platform that catering companies can’t ignore. As 18% of survey respondents said they use the platform, we can expect to see more outlets incorporating the platform into their marketing strategies.

Meanwhile, research suggests that almost 60% of the British population actively uses social media.

Are chains already using social media to achieve their marketing methods?

Restaurant chain Nando’s benefits from an active social media presence, with their Facebook page gaining almost 4.5m likes and their Twitter account picking up around 1.5m followers.

Likewise, bakery chain Greggs also uses social media. Their digital marketing coordinator, Abby Hughes, said to PR Week in February this year: ‘Our reactive posts represent the best-performing content for us, with people making comments about our food or us as a brand.’

Underlining this, the firm’s annual report reflected that sales were up by 7.4% to £960m, suggesting that, whatever it is doing as part of its overall marketing strategy, it’s working.

However, not all organisations are jumping on the social media bandwagon. Earlier this year, JD Wetherspoons announced it would be deleting the social media accounts of its head office and 900 pubs, preferring instead to ‘release news stories and information about forthcoming events on jdwetherspoon.com and in our printed magazine, Wetherspoon News’.

In resorting to traditional marketing methods, the chain now expects customers to visit its website in order to find out more information.

Although the company is happy with its decision, could this move prove detrimental to its exposure and connection with its core demographic? Only time will tell.

Whether you agree with it or not, a social media presence could help your business thrive. Being available online means you are likely receptive to feedback and reviews, which in turn gives the perception that your brand is modern, available and reliable.